My 99 in 999

This is a list of 99 goals I'd like to accomplish in the next 999 days, some big, most small. Two and a half years is a short amount of time, so this is not my complete bucketlist but it's a start! My first of these goals is to inspire my followers to make their next 999 days the most exciting and start a '99 in 999' of their own.

October 15, 2012

Oh my stars!!! It has been an unspoken goal of mine ever since I became an avid reader of Southern Weddings Magazine's blog, to be a Southern Bride of the Month. Each month, SW mag features an engaged "southern belle" and interviews on her trial, tribulations, joys, and fun tid-bits about being engaged and how the wedding planning process is coming along.

And wouldn't you know it...not a single gal had been featured from South Carolina. Craziness, right?! So when I became one of the Southern Bride Bloggers, I was under the radar of the editors. I sent some of my vendors names over to the magazine and lo and behold, this morning when I came into work, I saw I was featured as October's bride!! Sooo exciting!!

56. Wash my car 5 times. For those of you who know me, you know how difficult this will actually be (2/5)

61. Photograph 40 of my 99 events (22/40)

64. Learn to make 5 cocktails and commit them to memory (3/5)

86. Cook 10 new successful recipes for dinner (8/10)

What I didn't even start!:

2. Eat 14 organic meals (0/14)

3. Go sky diving or bungee jumping - OK so I had the chance to do this, and decided I have too much riding on my staying alive right now lol. Call it a cop out but I have to finish my masters in August and pay off my student loans, and I love my fiance more than I want to risk death4. Go skiing or snowboarding5. Travel outside the US. I would love to go to a small Caribbean island or anywhere in Europe!

11. Go horseback riding

14. Bowl a turkey--decide if Wii bowling counts

16. Go wakeboarding out on the lake17. Learn to speak conversational Spanish

21. Go camping. Sleeping in an RV does NOT count

24. Complete the P90X system

26. Run an 8 minute mile (9 minutes...soooo close)27. Swim a 500m free in under 10 minutes (although I never timed myself, I'm almost certain I can)

29. Stay at a bed and breakfast30. Renew my CPR certification31. Stay at a beach house with friends32. Create a quilt using my old ESA shirts

36. Participate in the Mud Run

38. Visit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital39. Donate blood-given I gain enough weight to donate! I am 100% sure I will not gain enough weight to donate blood by the end of my 999 days, so in place of this goal: Run a 5k in under 30 min.40. Visit the Biltmore House

43. Go somewhere new and exciting for New Years

47. Perform in a musical, doesn't have to be lead.

52. Go to DC for the 4th of July to watch the fireworks

55. Go on a roadtrip with my cousins

57. Go rock wall climbing- Strom counts

59. Go snorkeling or scuba diving60. Visit Six Flags or Carowinds and ride as many roller coasters as I can!

62. Send Christmas or Thank You cards to soldiers overseas63. Send a care package to Erik while he's in Iraq

65. Sing at a Karaoke bar

67. Learn to make sushi

71. Begin making home brew

73. Donate my hair to Locks for Love74. Rent a mountain house with friends for the weekend75. Visit a winery76. Have a "mother-daughter" day complete with pampering and shopping

78. Complete the spicy tuna hand roll challenge at Bushido (0/10)79. Participate in a charity bike ride80. See a Broadway show. I'd REALLY like to see Wicked!

82. Compose a flute choir rendition of Canon or The Prayer and perform it at church83. Re-learn how to play the cello

85. Take salsa dancing lessons

91. Drive to PCB over the summer92. Learn how to surf- SC beaches do not count!

98. Spend a morning meditating on the beach

OK OK, so there's a bit more in yellow than pink

In my defense, the majority of these 999 days was spent in grad school, with no clear idea of what free time was, and 8 of the past 9 months have left my bank account dwindling down to nothing as I worked as an unpaid intern 40 miles away from home. So, as you can imagine, I didn't exactly have time, or especially the funds, to leave the country, go snorkeling, see a Broadway show, or stay at a mountain house. Per my "Golden Rule," to donate $1 to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for every goal left incomplete, I will be signing a check of $45 to this charity that's always held a special place in my heart.

**ESA ladies, point me in the direction of a sister currently fundraising and I can split up the donation**

There are a few, though, that will be crossed of this list by the end of this year!! Including:

5. Travel outside of the US

27. Swim a 500m free in under 10 minutes

59. Go snorkeling

and in the first few months of 2013, Stephen and I will begin to cross one off as a couple in our new blog:

August 27, 2012

I started this as a New Years resolution January 1st, 2010. A countdown to September 27, 2012 giving me 999 days to complete 99 goals. (The List).

There have been some wonderful memories created by crossing things off this list. Here's a few of my favorites:

1. Inspire someone to create a 99 in 999 list of their own (count is up to 8 people!)

6. Complete a sprint triathlon (I've done three!!)

8. Adopt a doberman

15. Go white water rafting

19. Watch all 6 seasons of Lost (6/6)

50. Publish a book (my cookbook raised $1,200 for LLS!)

51. Make the Dean's/President's list each semester of grad school (8/8)

90. Learn American Sign Language

95. Participate in the Cooper River Bridge Run (three times with Stephen!)

I didn't realize it until now...but these 8 goals have actually changed my life in HUGE ways!

It felt so awesome each time someone sent me a message saying they had been inspired and were in the process of creating a 99 list of their own. It's been especially exciting watching those of you who have kept up with it and update more than I do (*ahem* I'm talking to you Esther and Katie)!

Adopting a doberman was one of the best things I've ever done. Mika is the best dog!! Seriously, she is. She has so much personality, so quirky, and she's so well behaved. She learns boundaries really quickly and knows where she can and can't go within minutes of being in a new place, where alot of dogs would start running and just keep running! She has never..not even once..chewed on anything but her toys. I'm willing to bet, this time next year, she'll be able to be a "free range dobie" and walk without a leash to the park. (Not that we would..but she could do it!) She is so so smart and learns very quickly - but that's something I knew about dobermans and one of the main reasons I've always wanted one. Besides the fact that they are great guard dogs. I'm convinced our house would've been broken into by now had she not been here with us. Every day is better when she's around :-)

Speaking of things being better when someone's around...alot of these goals would not have been crossed off without Stephen. He's been my partner in all of this (and we got our start by watching all those seasons of Lost together)! He's participated in 10k's, 5k's, and triathlons with me. Things I'd never once done before he came into my life. He took me to Colorado, brought me hiking, white water rafting, canoeing, introduced me to a new sport (disc golf - of which I can say I'm not too terrible at). He helped me create my cookbook, which helped me raise $1,200 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He motivates me, pushes me, and encourages me. He's amazing.

And that's why..after the 999 days is over in September and we get back from our honeymoon in December and the dust from holidays settles, our New Years resolution for 2013 will be to start another 99 list as a couple!! But because there were many things I didn't get to on my "bucketlist" because I am master of procrastination, shortening the amount of days we have to complete it sounded like a good idea. So instead of having almost 1,000 days to countdown, we're cutting that number in half. 500 days. That's it.

So here's where you come in! We've already started our list of 99 goals / things we'd like to do as a couple...but we need your help!

About Me

Thanks for stoppin by! I am a Charleston based Barre instructor and Yoga fanatic. Here you can find a schedule of my classes, learn about fun local Charleston events, find tasty (and healthy!) recipes, and develop a better practice of mindfullness and self awareness through weekly motivation and inspiration! Check out the Facebook page or subscribe by email to stay in the loop.